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Removals to Wymondham with Hamiltons Removals
Picture: ADRIAN S PYE/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Pronounced ‘Windham’, this mid-Norfolk market town was one of the top dozen places to live in the East of England as recently as 2018, according to the Sunday Times. Here Hamiltons Removals, who can help if you are considering moving house to Wymondham, look at the history of the town, its facilities and its house prices.
The History and Heritage
Although there is evidence of a settlement before then (Bronze and Iron Age artefacts were discovered around 30 years ago) the town first really began to expand thanks to the establishment of a priory in the early 12th century, and a market which received its Royal Charter around 100 years after that.
The abbey was dissolved in 1538, and the remaining buildings form part of the parish church; however, the market survives, and there’s one held in the town centre every Friday. Wymondham was also the first town in the county to hold a regular farmers’ market. These started in 2000 and are held on the third Saturday of every month.
As well as agriculture, Wymondham owes its development and growth to the woodturning and brush-making industries; although these factories have now closed down and many of the town’s residents commute to Norwich or Cambridge to work. Major local employers include Norfolk Constabulary (the force’s operations and communications centre is located in the town) and the Lotus factory at nearby Hethel.
The Transport Connections
The town’s railway station is part of the largely rural Breckland Line, which runs services to Norwich in the east and Cambridge and Stansted airport to the west. The Wymondham Abbey station is part of the Mid Norfolk heritage line, which runs occasional passenger services to Dereham (where the line’s museum is located).
However, the A11 is probably of greater importance; the road used to run directly through the town (causing lots of delays and traffic jams). Although the Wymondham bypass was completed in 1996, the A11 is still a vital artery for drivers heading north or south from the town.
And First Norfolk and Suffolk run bus services to Attleborough, Hethersett and Norwich, while Konect Bus also operate services to the city and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
The Facilities
The Market Cross in the Market Place dates from around 1617, and it replaces the building which was destroyed in the town’s Great Fire two years earlier. The blaze, which saw four people hanged for arson, also destroyed the vicarage, the Town Hall, the schoolhouse and around a quarter of the town’s homes. The modern-day Market Cross, which is a listed building, now houses the town’s Tourist Information Centre.
There’s plenty of other buildings to interest the keen historian – apart from the Market Cross and the remains of the abbey, the town’s former jail now houses a Heritage Museum; previously it was a law court and a police station. The railway station and its signal box are both Grade II listed buildings and both were recently restored.
The town has three primary schools, one secondary (Wymondham High Academy) and Wymondham College, one of 36 state boarding schools across the country. Despite its name, it is located just outside the town’s boundary in nearby Morley.
The House Prices
In the 10 years from 2001 to 2011, Wymondham’s population grew by 15% from 12,539 to 14,405 – and it has increased considerably since, and it is now thought to stand at around 17,000. Much of this is down to the large housing developments which have been built in the south and east of the town. And more are planned – over the next 15 years another 2,600 homes have been earmarked for the town by local planners.
However there has been widespread praise for the way in which the town has evolved, while retaining its historic centre and facilities such as Toll’s Meadow, a town nature reserve which the River Tiffey (a tributary of the Yare) runs through.
This means Wymondham is an extremely attractive place to live – property website Rightmove says the average house price is now just over £320,000. This represents a 10% rise on the previous year.
Moving House to Wymondham with Hamiltons Removals
If you are interested in high-end domestic (or commercial) removals to Wymondham, then Norfolk removals company Hamiltons Removals will be able to get you there. We are based in the south of the county, with sites at Harleston and Aldeby.
How you want to start the whole process is up to you – we offer video surveys, online quotations or personal visits; we can also pack and unpack your items; or provide some high-quality packing materials and let you do the packing yourself. Our packing materials shop is based at Harleston, where we also offer secure self-storage rooms; larger items can be kept in one of our storage containers at Aldeby.
If you have any questions about any of our services, just call us on 01379 855203.